Barn Owl
Artemus & Diana
Artemus,
the much whiter bird, is a male and has brain damage, either from something
congenital or his fall from the nest in March 1991 when he was about 5 weeks
old. He never displayed normal defensive responses despite being
raised with other nestling barn owls who did, and was always about 2 weeks
behind the other birds going through normal developmental stages.
Considering that some 60% of young barn owls (and other raptors) die before
their first birthday, there was almost no chance that Artemus would survive
in the wild. In captivity, he has raised well over 100 foster young.
Diana, the darker
bird and a female, was found on Highway 99 in West Eugene in November 1994.
She was thin, with a fresh concussion and head injury as well as an older
fracture in the left wing tip which did not heal well enough for release. Although somewhat nervous around people, Diana was the first adult barn owl
that Artemus got along with, so we kept her for companionship.
Barn owls (Tyto alba)
This is a medium
sized owl with a distinctive, large head with a white, heart-shaped face and
small dark eyes; legs are long, wings are broad but fairly pointed. Plumage
is pale tawny in both sexes, with the male having pale to white undersides
of body and wings. Females are slightly larger in body size, as with most
other raptors, and may be darker. Flight is silent, swift, and buoyant. The
relatively small eyes and the sound-gathering feathered facial disc of the
Barn Owl indicate its ability to hunt by sound only, throughout the darkest
hours of the night or for prey in tall grass.
Barn Owl Notes
Size
| Male | Female | |
| Length | 17" ave. | 17" ave. |
| Wing Span | 45" ave. | 45" ave. |
| Weight | 15.6 oz. ave. | 17.3 oz. ave. |
Range - One of the most widespread of all birds, the Barn Owl is
resident throughout North America except in the northern Rockies and
northern Great Plains, and extending south down to the tip of South America.
Other races of Barn Owls occur throughout the world. Status - State and federally protected; listed as endangered in many mid-western and eastern states; declining in Great Britain.
Habitat - Widespread, but not common, in areas with lots of open fields, marshes, and pasture for hunting and large hollow trees or numerous old buildings for breeding sites. Less common in open countryside that has been intensely cultivated.
Diet - Hunts by extended solitary flights over open ground, often following favorite routes. Eats any small mammals to be found at dusk and into the night in open habitats - primarily voles, shrews, mice and other rodents. Average prey size is generally smaller than that of great horned owls that may inhabit the same area. In places where the larger great horned owls are present, barn owls may hunt only in hours of darkness, not only to avoid competing for food with the larger, more crepuscular owl species, but to avoid falling prey to them as well.
Call - This nocturnal species uses a great variety of calls, from screaming, screeching, hissing, purring notes, to a repeating wheezy hiss called "snoring." The most common call is a hissing shriek cssssshhH.
Nesting - Originally nested in caves, cliff faces, and hollow trees, but take advantage of barns, attics, and other man-made structures where these are available.
Most Common Problems - These owls are often hit by cars or trucks when flying low across or along roads at night. Nests built in places where human disturbance is likely, such as haystacks, buildings, and other structures, are often destroyed; young often fall from nests or fledge from nests into dangerous areas, such as manufacturing plants, warehouses, mills.
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